Monday, April 20, 2009

The newest edition to Phenom Farms





Last week I adopted 4 hens and a rooster off of craigslist. They have been living inside the barn in a stall, as I needed to finish off a coop. Its not a fancy coop, but in the spirit of earth day - very "green"! All materials are recycled, reused or scrap. Hence the pieced together look! The nest boxes are kitty litter containers screwed onto a board, perches made of bamboo. At this point its just fancy enough to have a place for the hens to lay, and to protect them at night from the various forms of wildlife I have here. I'll have to see if I can still hear the rooster crowing now that hes a little farther away from my bed (I live in an apartment in the barn). He is right on time I have to say - starts crowing about 2 minutes before my alarm goes off at 5:30 am, and had the decency to wait until 6:45 on Saturday and Sunday, after I had already woken up from my weekly routine.

So far the hens have names, but the rooster is working on earning his. He's big and beautiful pure white. Dad suggested BBQ, which I wasn't too fond of until he attacked me Sunday morning out of nowhere! He spurred me, drew blood, and left a nice bruise below my knee before I drop kicked him across the barn! The girls are Rubia, Blanca, Zamba & Peliroja, and after Sunday, the roosters current name is Almuerzo for LUNCH! He was very humble today when I was chasing and catching them all - hung upside down from his spurs he wasnt so tough!

My beautiful mares

Enjoying a Sunday afternoon, out eating grass!

Saturday, April 18, 2009

More getting ready for the show season

Today was a BEAUTIFUL day - 75 degrees, slight breeze, lots of sun. Although I did make it out for a trail ride, I've been working most of the day on a the show premium for the Gold Rush Classic Show. I have been helping this fabulous show in Las Vegas for three years now as the Publications and Promotions chair. Its a double regional show, which means that there are two judges and two ribbons given in each class. The show is held in the South Point Casino in Las Vegas, NV. Everything is under one roof - the hotel and the barns and arena! Even the horses have air conditioning!

This is one of the best shows for the Peruvian Horse world wide - exhibitors from a dozen plus states and Canada, spectators from literally all over the world - for the Peruvian horse - THIS show is EXCITEMENT! Plus tons of MONEY! The GRC is one of the few shows which awards a ton of cash - over $40,000 in the last two years alone. Its a great way to promote the horse, and such a great place to compete with the best of the best.

See more information about the show here at www.goldrushclassic.com Sponsor a class or take advantage of our awesome cheap hotel rates and come watch!

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Preparing for the first show of the season

May 1-3 is the Fiesta of the Spanish Horse show in Burbank, CA. Its one of my favorite shows to go to because there are multi breed shows going on at the same time. They have shows for Andalusian/Lusitanos, PRE, Paso Fino, Peruvian Pasos, and this year Fresians also. Saturday night there is a big extravaganza where they sell tickets to raise money for cancer research. Lots of spectacular acts and entertainment! I think Coronado and I will do the Champagne challenge again this year - we have won the last 2 years.

I have been working on getting KLP Sedona and MCD Coronado+ ready for the show. Spring is here and its so much easier to do with all the extra daylight hours! BUT this crazy wind that we have been having the last few days has made it impossible to ride. I'm hoping is a little calmer tonight. Andres is coming up to the show and is going to ride Sedona in a few classes - hopefully they can repeat their championship performance from last year!

If you want to find out more about the show, see www.fiestaspanishhorse.org

My dad and his gelding!


Just had to share this great pic of my dad on his gelding RDS Tapado. He's a super sweet horse, and really flashy too!